bookcases....how the heck to decorate them

i hear people stress about decorating bookcases alot.  it can be daunting.....6 shelves, 10 feet tall....how the heck do i fill the space?  bookcases are a great place to showcase family treasures, travel souveniers, and all the many books that you collect over the years.  i have scoured the internet to find some great examples of things you can do.  i wish i had bookcases in my house b/c of all the unique ways you can decorate them.  so, kick back and take a look at how a huge, plain jane bookcase can become one of your favorite areas of your house!

{house beautiful}

books - they don't HAVE to stand straight up and they don't all have to go the same way.  lay some on their sides and stack them tall

i love how the picture frame is attached to the front of the bookcase.  who says a frame has to hang on a wall?

notice how the back of the bookcase is painted yellow?  this is a great place to add pops of color without it being overwhelming.  and so easy to change.

{hgtv}

{hooked on houses}

this is one of my favorites...organizing your books and magazines according to their spine colors.  i love this.  unfortunately i don't have quite enough to do this, but i'm well on my way, thanks to book club!  if you check out the "hooked on houses" link, be sure and read about the book store that arranged ALL of their books by color.  super cool!  not sure how easy it would be to find the book you need, but at least you would have something beautiful to look at while searching! 

{better homes & gardens}

turn a bookcase or cabinet into a bar area/wine cabinet.  i hope to have some pics of one of my client's projects soon.  we did something similar with a large china cabinet in her dining room {no pressure sarah!}.  you can purchase racks that you screw into the bottom of a shelf for glasses to hang.  pick up wine racks for bottles and use beautiful decanters to turn a simple bookcase or cabinet into a useable bar area.

{apartment therapy}

{country living}

another favorite of mine...use wall paper on the back of a bookcase to add fabulous pattern and color.  think about some of the wallcoverings from this past ruby jewel post.  what a statement!  and let's talk about that second photo....the "bookcase" is made out of cabinet drawers.  so very creative.

in almost all of these photos you will see that they have combined books with knick knacks and photos to create a space that is interesting to look at.  hopefully this gives you some inspiration for some of those blank bookcases and cabinets in your home.

if you have done something unique to a bookcase, email me a pic!  i would love to see it.  rubyjewelstudio@gmail.com

happy weekend!!!